Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Redo
by Reid Lionmane
Summary: This version is what I think Wind Waker should have been. I do not own Legend of Zelda or any of the characters


Once long ago, there was a beautiful kingdom. The people were happy in their peaceful lives with a golden power showering it's pure light over them. But one dark day, a great evil came to the land. He wanted the golden power for himself so he could rule over the kingdom and turn it into his own dark domain. But when all hope seemed lost a young man clad in green appeared with a blade of evil's bane to destroy the dark power. He fought on valiantly and defeated the evil man before he disappeared back to where he came. He was known then on as the Hero of Time. For many long years after this the kingdom lived in peace. But one dark day a fell wind blew across the land. The evil had risen once again. Everyone in the kingdom prayed for the young Hero of Time to save them from the evil man but he did not appear. They left their fate in the hands of the Gods. What remains of the kingdom? No one knows.

This is a legend told on my home of Outset Island. I would listen to my elders tell this story as a child before I lost interest in them. Each night, I made my grandmother tell me the story before tucking me in. Now I've outgrown the stories. Today is my 16th birthday and all I've heard today is how I'm the same age as the hero, how I should be so proud, and so on. To keep from hearing anymore I've hidden at the top of my sister's favorite spot.

It's a lookout that let's you see all over the island. Down below I can see my friend, Mesa, cutting his grass like always. It never gets completely finished but he keeps cutting. On the bridge crossing to the other side of the island I see a young child named Joel playing. The two mountains on the island loom over us and the old forest sits atop one mountain undisturbed. The wind is blowing perfectly, the day isn't too hot or too cold, and it seems like nap time in my opinion. So without further thought, I drop on the ground and close my eyes. Wind gently caresses my face, lulling me to sleep.

My eyes don't close for long, before I hear someone climbing the extremely tall ladder to the lookout. Maybe if I'm asleep they'll leave me alone? Might as well try.

I try to be as convincing as possible without being over-dramatic. Some snores here, some deep breaths here, and I should be perfectly believable. Whoever the intruder of my privacy is, they made it to the top of the ladder. They'll make a few steps towards me, see I'm asleep, and-

Thwack!

Something solid smacks into the side of my head making me sit up. While rubbing my head I look at my attacker and immediately go from enraged to smiling. My little sister, Aryll, stands over me holding her telescope and grinning at me.

She's about four years younger than me and I should have guessed she'd be up here soon. As I said, it's her favorite spot. She's wearing her favorite blue dress covered in pink flowers. Her blonde hair is in pig tails and her green eyes shine in the faint rays of sun showing through the ceiling of the lookout. She's probably my favorite person in the world.

"You know Grandma is still waiting for you, right?" She asks me.

That's when I remember my other favorite person is still waiting after I said I'd be back in 10 minutes. It's been an hour.

"Crap! Thanks Aryll!" I tell her as I rush to the ladder.

Crap crap crap crap! She's been waiting all this time! No time to climb down. I jump from the ladder and away from the bridge connecting it to the land, diving into the water. Swimming as fast as I can, the shore greets me and I pull myself up to my feet, and take off running. I wave to Mesa as I pass his lawn and head for the bridge leading to the other side of the island. I'm almost half way when Joel jumps out in front of me.

"Link! Can you please help me?"

I skid to a stop, "What's the matter little guy?"

"My ball! It's out there on that rock and I can't reach it! Will you please get it for me?" He said with such a cute innocent face, he could make a woman cry. But I'm no woman and all I see is a guilty kid.

"So how did that ball get out there?" I ask him.

His innocent look vanishes, "Umm well there was a seagull you see...and it flew down to hit my hand and...made the ball fly off...and it landed on that rock..."

"Nice try kiddo. Lemme guess you were trying to show off to Zill by showing you could throw your ball over there and instead of asking your dad for help like you should you told Zill you'd get it yourself but don't want him to watch how you will because it's a secret." I explain astounding him with my details.

He looks at me surprised, "How did you guess all that?"

"You guys do this all the time. You brag and end up getting yourself into trouble like this...and Zill is over there hiding his eyes." I finish pointing to another young boy with snot dripping from his nose.

Joel looks down at his feet. The kid hates disappointing me so I crouch down and put my hand on his shoulder, "Buddy it's okay. I'll get you your ball but you need to start being more honest, okay?"

Joel's head shoots up wide-eyed, "Yes yes yes!"

I smile and look at the rock the ball is on. It's about a 6 foot jump from the bridge to the rock and it's slightly higher. It's not a difficult jump. I'm just happy Joel didn't try. I know he wouldn't have made it. I back up some and jump across the water landing on the rock with ease. I turn to see Joel's worshiping face at my ability, then I pick the ball up and jump back.

Joel takes the ball happily, "Thank you so much Link!"

"No problem, lil guy." I smile at start running across the bridge again. Joel laughs at his younger brother's disbelieving face as he makes up some story on how he got the ball back.

Joel and Zill are good kids. Joel is only a year older but he thinks he is very superior to his brother. He's got slightly longer hair to try to match my own but his dark brown hair has only grown out a bit. Their mother cuts their hair to the scalp after an incident with some gummy candy. Zill is shorter than his story-telling brother and his hair is a lighter color, but they both have the same hazel eyes.

"Happy birthday young man!" Shouts my teacher Sturgeon from his porch.

"Thank you very much Master Sturgeon!" I shout back. He's a brilliant elderly man with a large head. He's short and loves sitting out on his porch of the second level of the building he shares with my other master, his brother, lives above and Orca lives below.

Sturgeon looks at me questioningly through his small glasses, "Will you be coming in to study with me young man?"

I roll my eyes before I answer, "Master Sturgeon do you mind if I get a day off today? It is my birthday after all."

Sturgeon chuckles, "Yes but just this once."

"Thank you again master!" I smile even bigger as I approach my grandmother's house.

I run up the hill going to my grandmother's house and almost crash into my friend Sue-Belle. She's a pretty, young girl, about 2 years older than me, who carries jars of water from the well to Sturgeon's, her grandfather's, house on her head. I jump out of the way just to land in the bushes.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry Link!" Sue-Belle says, putting down her jar to come help me up.

"No it's my fault. I was running like an idiot without watching where I was going. I'm the one who's sorry." I apologize as I accept her help up out of the bushes.

Sue-Belle looks at me not so sure if I'm right. Just last year I had a crush on her but I gave up on it knowing she was out of my league.

"Listen it's fine," I tell her with a smile, "I'm not hurt. Now please don't be sad. You're too beautiful for frowning."

Her smile spreads and lights up her brown eyes. She nods, gets up, grabs her jar, and leaves as her long blue hair bounces on her back. I get up and walk up the ramp to my grandma's house. I open the door and walk in and see her chair is empty. I can only think of one more place she could be so I turn around and climb the ladder that she has leading up to a platform. She keeps her most important things up here. I get to the top and see her standing sorting through some things. My grandma is a short old woman with her gray hair pulled back in a bun. She's always smiling and her blue eyes have never lost the spirit and happiness she is known for.

"I'm sorry grandma I lost track of time and-"

"Shhh child it's quite alright," She told me, "I needed to find your present anyway and I can't seem to find it anywhere."

"Grandma, you know I don't need a present." I protest.

"Oh no I insist." Grandma raised a hand to stop any further protests from me. She went through a few more boxes before raising her head in excitement.

"Ah ha! I found it." She said turning around and showing me my "present".

They were some old dark green clothes and a hat. I picked them up and observed them. There was a white, thick shirt and a pair of thick pants as well. Along with those came a thick, dark green tunic separated by a large leather belt and a good pair of leather boots. To top it all off was a matching hat for the tunic. In all, I had a very warm outfit for a tropical island.

I'm guessing my grandma saw my face because she immediately spoke before I could weasel my way out of there, "Now I want you to try these on now. Don't make a fuss. It's in honor of your birthday."

I decided I had no choice and went behind a few boxes to change while my grandmother talked about how proud she was that I was finally of age to wear the clothes. The day was going so good too. But now this.

Grandma watches me as I walk out from behind the boxes. She's pulled out an old large mirror so I can see myself. The pants are fairly tight and hug close to the muscles in my legs. The bottom of the tunic hangs down right above my knees and the belt pulls the top of it tightly against me showing all the muscles in my chest. It's a fairly tight outfit but still allows me to be pretty mobile. If it weren't so warm I'd wear it just to show off myself.

"Oh! You forgot the hat!" Grandma exclaimed.

And the fact that it comes with this weird hat makes it a little difficult to wear without shame. I look to my face seeing my clean chin since I never really needed to shave before, my ocean blue eyes, and my light brown hair. My hair is slightly long reaching to around the middle of my neck. And I was hoping my dear old grandmother wouldn't notice the hat lacking on my head.

Grandma stands waiting and I know I'm not getting out of this one. I grab the hat and fit it over my head. It fits perfectly so it doesn't fall off and doesn't squeeze. Standing before the mirror in the whole outfit made me look like some fairytale hero. Or just a really strange circus freak.

"You look so handsome!" Grandma says clasping her hands together

"I feel so strange. Doesn't this seem like a bit much?"

"Just be lucky young man. I could have included the WHOLE outfit. But I left some of it out so no whining, understand?" She says.

I nod my head, finally giving in, and turn to her.

"Well run along now. I don't wanna keep you away from everyone on your birthday!" She says smiling.

Rolling my eyes, I hug her and smile. She's such a sweet woman. Aryll and I are lucky to have her. Our parents were lost at sea about 10 years ago. Grandma took over for them and made sure we were always safe. We owe her a lot.

The sun beats down on me, making me burn inside my clothes. I walk down the path, seeing Sue-Belle again with her jar.

She looks confused by my sudden green, "My my, Link. Those clothes look...warm."

I can see the question of why I would wear this rising on her lips until she realizes exactly why.

"It's your turn to wear the hero's clothes isn't it?"

"Unfortunately." Is all I can grunt out with my head drooping.

Sue-Belle begins to frown at my displeasure but smiles softly. She walks over, placing the jar on the ground, and kisses my cheek. If I thought I was warm before, I'm definitely warm now. I look to her trying to hide my embarrassment but I'm sure that I'm as red as a rupee.

"If it makes you feel better, I think you look very handsome." She says smiling at me.

I smile too because it does make me feel better. Hopefully my day can stay this good. I thank her with a hug and walk down the path before I notice Abe hiding in some grass. Abe is Joel and Zill's father. He has slightly red-brown hair and it connects to a beard, framing his face. He has the same eyes as his sons.

I walk over to him to see what he's staring at. There's a pig in the distance just standing around so I guess that's the show my friend is watching. He finally notices me near and stands up next to me. I'm about 5 foot 9 but he still towers over me. Abe's always been a tall guy.

"So whatcha-"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Abe whispers.

He points to the pig, "Rose wants a pet and I think that pig over there is perfect. But I can't get close enough."

He gets back on the ground slightly disappointed at his failure. I look over at the small creature. I'm sure if I crawled in the grass, my new green attire would hide me. Each hand hits the ground and I'm on my hands and knees. I descend to my stomach before crawling forward slowly and silently. The pig is unaware of my presence as I get even closer. It sees a shadow behind it and...

Squeal!

The pig starts fighting and kicking at me but I have a good grip on the lil guy.

"Calm down you stupid thing or I'm gonna turn you into bacon!" I shout at it.

Sometimes I wonder if animals understand people. This is one of those times. Little mister piggy shut up pretty quick. Abe walks up with his jaw dropped, but the joy is obvious on his face.

"Link thank you so much! I would have never gotten close enough! That stupid thing saw me from a mile away." He said.

"Abe everyone sees you from a mile away." I laugh at him.

He laughs too and then turns his attention back to the current issue, "Well since you have the oinker all quiet, would you mind taking him up to the house? Rose should be in the pen."

I nod and take my pink friend around Master Sturgeon and Master Orca's house to the path leading up the hill behind their house. Abe's family lives at the highest house on the island. They have a fairly nice house up here and they recently built a pen around it. I guess I'll be the first to add something to it.

The plump blond lady in front of me jumps at first startled then with joy, "Oh dear me! Is that cute lil thing for me?"

I set the pig softly down in the pen and nod. I never quite know what to say to Rose. She's so sweet but she's one of those people who thinks you're a kid when you're 20. I think I've seen her pinch her husbands cheeks a few times. It's so weird, but she's a lovable woman nonetheless.

"I heard you'd been looking for a pet to keep you company. Figured he'd make good use of the pen."

Rose starts making a strange sound I have to guess is a happy squeal. She picks up the poor pig and I can see him shaking in fear as he has no idea what is going on.

"Thank you so much deary. Well I think if I do recall, it's your birthday today isn't it?" She said with surprise.

I nodded but she was already half-way to her house. She comes back out with something in her hand, but her fist is closed over it.

"Close your eyes deary. It's a surprise."

I close my eyes and hold out my hand. I feel something about the size of my palm lightly land in my hand.

"Alright open those peepers!" Rose says with obvious excitement.

After opening my eyes, I can tell why Rose was being so jumpy. She had just given me a purple rupee. That's a good 50 rupees in my pocket. And seeing how I have to work nonstop for a month around the island just to earn 15 rupees, this is obviously an amazing thing.

"Thank you so much, Rose. Tell me anytime I can bring you something else!" I tell her as I put away the rupee.

She smiles with satisfaction, "No problem deary. You go enjoy your day. We'll all be around later for the normal party at your grandma's. You better not be late."

I wave goodbye and head down the hill. What else was there to do today? Maybe I can get another nap up at the lookout tower. After a few minutes of walking, I arrive at the lookout tower's ladder. As I climb the ladder I can see out at the sea. I see all of its beauty. The waves shining in the sunlight as they crash on to the shore softly. The clouds wistfully blowing across the sky. The sun warming up every part of the world with its amazing, shining rays. I hope I can travel these seas one day. If I keep saving up money, maybe I can buy a boat.

At the top of the ladder, I see that Aryll is still up here. She's gazing out across the sea too, but with her telescope. Aryll always told me how she wanted to travel the world too, but I don't know if I could ever take her. I would never want her in danger.

She finally notices I'm there and turns to me, "Hey big brother!...Are those clothes grandma's gift?"

I look down to the ground nodding.

She giggles a bit before speaking again, "Well I have a present for you too. Hold out your hands and close your eyes."

I hold out my hands for a second time today and close my eyes as well. I wonder how many people will need to give me a "surprise gift" today. I really hope they can just give me a gift. Hell, I'd rather just have a hug than have to keep closing my eyes. It gets so strange having to close my eyes so much-

"Um brother you can open your eyes. I gave you the gift already."

"Oh, alright." Is all I can say. I must have gotten lost in my thoughts. When I open my eyes, I'm instantly confused. I'm holding Aryll's telescope. I look around, I look up, I look down, I even look around the telescope to see if a card is on it or something. Eventually I just look at Aryll and give up.

She seems to have expected my confusion, "Yes, Link, I'm giving you my telescope. But only for today. It's my favorite thing and I felt you were special enough to have it for awhile."

This makes me smile. Aryll never lets anyone near that telescope. It used to belong to our mother and it was left for Aryll when we lost them. I know this is the best gift I could be given today. I go over to the side of the lookout, and use the telescope as I look out across the island. I see Sue-Belle carrying her jar, Abe chasing another pig, and the Rito mailman freaking out about something...I wonder what it is.

I look up at the sky where the mailman was looking and my jar drops. A giant demonic looking bird is flying over the island. It is wearing a colorful mask, has black feathers except for the orange and green feathers at the ends of its tail and wings, and a blond girl in it's giant claws. I see a stone go flying past the bird just barely missing it. After looking towards the ocean I see a pirate ship is the one throwing stones at it. After a few more shots the stones smack the bird in the face making him drop the girl. I watch as the girl falls straight into the Forbidden Forest at the very top of the island.

Aryll didn't see as many details, but she knows what just happened, "Link what are we going to do! That poor girl might be hurt. We've gotta help her!"

Aryll's right. Someone has to do something. But I can't do anything with my bare hands. I'm going to need a weapon. I know exactly where to get one too. I jump off the ladder again and land back in the ocean. I swim across the water all the way to the other side of the island and run to Orca's house. I run in the door and try to catch my breath.

"Young one! What is the problem?" Master Orca says

I explain to him what I just saw and he never seems to be fazed. At the end he speaks to me.

"How can I know you will use a sword properly? It is true you have been training for many years, but never have you needed to use one out in the real world."

"I understand your concern, Master. But I cannot stand by while another person is in danger. The sword would help, yes, but I would continue on to save that girl even without it. For it is what is right. I ask for your blade because I know I will be able to save her with it. I know I can be the hero today." I say proudly.

Master Orca looks into my eyes for a moment looking for anything that might contradict my words but I know he won't find it.

"Very well. But for this you will need a special blade." He says.

He walks over to the far wall and picks up a sword off a shelf. It's still sheathed. That is the blade I was warned to never go near for it was extremely important though I never knew why. He comes over to me and draws the sword. It has an unnatural glow about it.

Master Orca stares at the blade with great pride, "This blade was once used by the Hero of Time himself. It has been passed down throughout my family and guarded carefully. In the hands of a hero it will show it's true strength. I want you to take good care of this sword."

He sheathes the blade and hands it to me. I carefully take the belt of the scabbard and rest it around my shoulder.

Orca smiles at me, "You truly look like a hero now. Now go! Save that poor girl!"

I nod and sprint out the door. The island seems to be a blur behind me as I dash across the bridge, past the look out, and up the mountain trail. A small barricade of trees stands in the way near the beginning of the trail but I quickly retrieve my new blade and chop every last tree down in a single swing. I take a moment to admire the power in the blade and continue my journey up the mountain.

I reach the top soon enough. The view is amazing. If only I had more time to appreciate it. In moments I hear the sound of wooden planks as my feet fly across the rope bridge. My pace slows as I reach my destination. The Forbidden Woods. The dark entrance sends chills to my bone. I've heard many stories of this place and none of them ended happy. That is why the earth barricade was there. To keep the evil locked away in this place from getting to the people below.

I put my hand on the blade looking for courage but not finding any. As my strength fades, my hand falls on Aryll's telescope. I look down and feel a warm, calming feeling flow through my veins. The darkness of the woods almost seems to retreat from me now. So I gather myself together and run headfirst into the place of evil with my blade in hand.


End file.
